


I'd Follow You Anywhere...Except to the FBI

by haileys_jay



Series: Upstead One Shots [5]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haileys_jay/pseuds/haileys_jay
Summary: Jay gets some things off his chest after Hailey receives an inevitable offer from the FBI (based off 8x03 promo)
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton
Series: Upstead One Shots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985666
Kudos: 51





	I'd Follow You Anywhere...Except to the FBI

**Author's Note:**

> Secret Santa gift for leigh0723 on tumblr.  
> Prompt: why would you break us like this?  
> based off 8x03 promo  
> happy holidays and hope you enjoy your gift!!!

“What did the FBI offer you?”

Jay stared at his partner, who sat across from him in a dimly lit bar in the middle of winter. The venue was a change of scenery from Molly’s, which was always full of life with music and first responders who were happy that their shifts were finally over and they could relax. This place was a little more relaxed and not as loud, and they chose it because it was away from all their friends and excitement so they could finally sit down and talk about what had been eating away at Jay for 2 days: what was inside of the package Hailey received from the FBI.

“Joint Level Task Force.”

He should have known it. Hailey did an amazing job at the FBI, and even though she denied it every time, she loved it. The tech was more high end, and somehow the work was at a quicker pace, but she liked the job and eventually, the people she worked with. She even received an offer before she left New York, but she turned it down. Hailey told Jay she missed Chicago, but deep down it was because she couldn't leave her partner. Just a year prior they were terrified to be involuntarily separated when Kelton won the mayoral election, and she couldn't bear voluntarily ending their partnership now. Don't get her wrong, she loved her unit and the work they did, but it felt nice knowing that even months later, the FBI was still recruiting her.

“Hailey, that’s amazing.” Jay feigned a smile as he played with the cup of whiskey in his hands. He was happy for her, he really was, but the weeks of phone calls and texts did not compare to having her next to him in his truck or sitting at the desk across from them. “What’s the position?”

Hailey chuckled before taking a swig of her own whiskey. She knew Jay was faking it, she always knew. They worked together for years, becoming each other’s best friends. She knew the only reason he was being nice and asking questions is because it looked better than excusing himself and leaving. “Special Agent. I’d have to go through all the training and take the tests, but OA said i would make a good candidate.”

He looks at her face, sees how happy and bright she is. One of the largest police organizations in the world is _offering_ her a job. It's a dream almost every cop had, to just join the FBI instead of applying. The application process was messy and long and very selective but yet, here she was, Hailey Upton with a job _offer_. He tried to be happy, wanted to continue the conversation to show her he was being supportive, but his face looked like a sad puppy dog, and Hailey could see that. How his face was angled down but his eyes were looking up at her, the lights bringing out the green in them, and his lopsided smile that tried to give off excitement. But regardless of her face and her happiness or the bottle of whiskey they barely drank, he finished off his cup and stood up to grab his jacket.

“I’m happy for you, Hailes. As much as I want to talk more about this, it's getting kind of late and work will be a bitch if i stay up much longer.”

Before Jay could walk away, Hailey reached across the end of the table and gripped his forearm. She told him about the offer because he was her partner, her best friend, the person who stayed up until 2 am to Facetime her just to watch her eat cheap take out and complain about work. She wanted to know what he was thinking and hear his opinions instead of walking away and making things unavoidably awkward during work.

“You know, you could tell me you don't want me to take it.”

She was smiling, trying to give him a hint to stay and talk, hopefully clear up anything that was running through his mind. But instead, he let out a deep breath of air, almost a borderline chuckle. “And you know I can't do that. It's your life, your job offer, and my feelings about you shouldnt be the reason you don't take it.”

“Jay, it’s for JTTF in Chicago. I wouldn't be going out of town unless they needed me to, and even then it's not permanent. Plus, you talk about feelings when you haven’t acted on a single thing since I came back months ago.”

At this point, the alcohol was doing most of the talking. They might not have finished the bottle, but Hailey had drank more than Jay because he had psyched himself out too much in preparation for this conversation. In reality, she just skimmed the package from the FBI and has barely given it a thought, wanting to know Jay’s opinion before an official response was given. 

Jay had let out an audible, slightly annoyed laugh. As much as they had grown closer over the past few months, Hailey was right about him making no moves to become a couple, or even have a conversation about it. He was terrified that the FBI would take her back and was waiting for the time when it was no longer a consideration, and now he had probably waited too long.

“Alright Hailey, I’m leaving. I'll see you at work tomorrow.” He gave a small lazy wave before turning around and leaving the bar. She watched him leave, as he made his way through a small group of people and shoving his body into the door. She groaned, running her hands through her ponytail and wondering how the conversation could have gone differently. When she envisioned this conversation, a dramatic exit was not part of it, nor was Hailey being left alone to drink by herself. Instead of dwelling too much on how wrong her night had gone, she finished off her drink, left some money for the bill, including a generous tip, a left.

* * *

The next day, Hailey walked into work with a bigger hangover than she had wanted and hoped that nothing about the previous night would be mentioned. If anyone asked, she would tell them she drank far too much whiskey than her body could handle, which she did, but that it was done all at home instead of beginning in a bar that no one was familiar with. She found her FBI papers left in the same scattered mess as when she left them, unorganized and covering her desk. She tried organizing them, putting them back in the same package they came in, but within seconds she slid them into her top drawer and slammed it shut harder than she intended.

“Hailey?” Jay appeared in the doorway of the bull pen, his hair a mess like he barely slept and had no energy to fix it. His jacket was halfway zipped, revealing a wrinkled black Henley that Hailey wished he didn't look so good in. He motioned his head in the direction of the locker room, and with no thought she followed him.

“You did have to leave me in-” Hailey started the conversation, but was quickly cut off by Jay, who shut the door and searched for any bodies in the room, which were none.

“No, I’m going to talk first.”

“Oh, now you want to talk?” Hailey crossed her arms and leaned and on the outside edge of a row of lockers.

“Yeah,” He shrugged off his coat, throwing it on a nearby bench, “I've been up all night just thinking about this offer. I know you’re happy and excited, and I want to be happy and excited for you too, but I can't because honestly, it's killing me. Being here without my partner for weeks was tough, knowing that one person who always had my back was partnered with someone else, and then the thought of you potentially getting hurt and me being thousands of miles away.”

“But I didn't get hurt, Jay.”

He held up a hand, letting her know he was far from done. “When I said I would follow you anywhere, I meant it. It wasn't some “in the moment” type thing. You’re the only partner I've had that's truly been there, on and off shift, and if you leave, I don't think I can find that again. And I know you feel the same, so  **why would you break us like this** ? I know it's selfish, and I can see you anytime I want, and that it's a  _ really  _ good offer, but I don't want you to leave. Plain and simple. And yeah, I do have feelings for you that I never acted on but I was scared of this happening. I know you could leave the unit and we could still make it work but I can't risk getting hurt again.”

After he finished talking, he let out a deep breath of air and let the silence surround them. Hailey still had her arms crossed, but now they were loose and not so tensed with anger. She looked at him with the same straight face she had put on when he started talking, but now there was a fair dose of shock running through her. She wanted him to talk about his feelings, but this was far from what she had imagined. Even Jay didn't anticipate the rant he had spewed, but once he started talking, he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“I turned down the offer this morning.”

“You...what? You were so-” Jay tilted his head like a dog who couldn't quite understand what was being said to him.

“Excited?” Hailey shrugged her shoulders and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear. “I was, but after you so graciously  _ abandoned me,  _ I went home and thought about it. The FBI was never a dream of mine. Sure, the new technology, high profile cases, and the salary is nice, but my dream has always been taking down the murderers that barely break the news or drug deals that ruin the city, not some big government job. I thought about the team and how this unit is my family. I’ve felt more at home than I ever have in any of my previous units, and with the holidays coming up, you know how shitty a gift of the best detective leaving would be?” Hailey let out a chuckle as she watched Jay process everything. He was grinning and putting all of his attention on her. “Then I thought about you, Jay. I've never found anyone who would have my 6 in the middle of a shootout, then bring me Tylenol in the middle of the night because I had a tiny headache. You’ve always been my rock, and you’re right, I wouldn't be able to find another one like you. So, yeah, I turned down the job.”

“You let me go on that rant for nothing?” Jay snickered, his hand finding the back of his neck to rub in nervously. Did he regret telling her all those things? Not really, but now he kind of wished that he let Hailey speak earlier.

“You didn't really give me a choice.” Hailey snorted in response.

After all was said, the two stood there, staring at each other in a comfortable silence. Each of them had a grin on their faces, and took in all of the other facial features. Jay could feel his face get red, his ears feeling like they were on fire. But when he looked at Hailey’s bright blue eyes, ignoring the small bags under them from sleep deprivation, he swore that his heart melted a little bit. Jay’s eyes were dark, something Hailey noticed when he was nervous, angry, or the occasional hangry. They read each other’s body language like they had a million times before, but this time there was a different meaning behind it.

“So, is this where you tell me you also have feelings for me, or do I just stand here like a dummy?” He stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, anticipating her reply.

Hailey opened her mouth to respond, but before anything could be said, the door creaked open and Kim peaked her head in. “Hey guys, we caught a case, a double homicide, and Voight wants us on the scene ASAP.”

Jay nodded his head, “We’ll be there in a second.” Instead of Kim trying to argue back, because she needed something out of her locker, she simply shut the door and the detectives went back to focusing all their attention on each other. “So?”

“We can talk about it at dinner. A make-up dinner, but this time you can’t leave me.”

“There are no future situations in which I’ll be leaving you alone at a bar again.” He let out a laugh and opened his arms, inviting Hailey for a hug. “Come here.”

There were very few times when Hailey and Jay would hug, they could probably count them on one hand, and each time was a very different reason. Jay shielding her from a magazine being unloaded on them (she considered it a hug, because what else would you call laying on the floor of a van with his strong arms wrapped around you like your lives literally depended on it?), when a victim she grew close to ended up dying, and when she came home from the airport after weeks of being in a different state, which also happened to be the longest amount of time they had gone without seeing each other. So this hug felt different then all the rest, despite how simple one could be. They had the perfect height different to where her head rested right below his chin and she could hear his heart beat, albeit at a quick pace, and heat radiated off his body despite how cool the room was kept. He wrapped his arms around her back, bringing her close to ensure there was no space between them. She felt safe in his arms and for the first time in what felt like days, they were genuinely happy and having no thoughts on the FBI, and the feeling of walking on eggshells in anticipation of her offer no longer existed. 

“Why don't we catch these bad guys while thinking of somewhere to eat.” He rubbed her back for half a second before they separated. She waited by the lockers while he grabbed his coat so they could leave together.

“I'm pretty sure you still owe me dinner at Bartoli’s.”

Jay laughed, “Bartoli’s for the lady it is.” They nudged each other in the sides and bumped hips before leaving, putting any previous conversation behind them so they could get a proper start to a probable busy work day.

**Author's Note:**

> I tossed up a few ideas for weeks and it took me forever to settle on one that I hope you really like. Based off the 8x03 promo, and if it sounds familiar, I promise I stole nothing because I’ve read maybe 2 fics in the past 3 months, and none we’re based off 8x03. I hope i did your prompt justice and hope you have the best holidays!


End file.
